I did not expect to be dreaming: Explaining realization in lucid dreams with a Bayesian framework.
Piotr Szymanek
Consciousness and Cognition August 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103163 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Lucid dreaming Dreaming |
| Keywords | Bayes Dream cognition Probability Reasoning |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key points | Argues that the transition to lucidity in dreams can occur as a result of successful probabilistic reasoning, modeled using a Bayesian framework that accounts for the dreamer's beliefs about probability and their admissibility of being in a dream. |
Abstract
The commonsense view is that a lucid dream starts when the dreamer realizes that they are currently dreaming. The notion of realization, however, has been accepted at face value, with little consideration of whether the dreamer realizes that they are dreaming in the sense of actual reasoning, or if it is a mere epiphenomenon of lucid dream initiation. This article offers a solution to this problem by, first, arguing that the transition to lucidity can occur as a result of successful reasoning, and second, building a model of this reasoning in terms of probabilistic reasoning. The established Bayesian model explains realization in lucid dreams taking under consideration two factors: the beliefs that the dreamer holds on what is generally probable and improbable, and the dreamer's admissibility of being in a dream. Defended against important objections, the model offers an explanation of lucid dream initiation, relevant for future research on dreaming.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Neurobiology of Consciousness: Lucid Dreaming Wakes Up | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| What I make up when I wake up: anti-experience views and narrative fabrication of dreams | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| New perspectives for the study of lucid dreaming: From brain stimulation to philosophical theories of self-consciousness | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Lucid dreaming: Evidence and methodology | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Predictive coding, multisensory integration, and attentional control: A multicomponent framework for lucid dreaming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 1, 2022
- Visual perspective, distance, and felt presence of others in dreams. Consciousness and Cognition August 1, 2023
- Distinguishing out-of-body experiences from lucid dreaming: a phenomenological analysis. Frontiers in Psychology September 15, 2025
Cites 14
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Sleep June 29, 2012
- The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews March 14, 2019
- Consciousness, dreams and virtual realities Philosophical Psychology 1995
- Dreaming: a conceptual framework for philosophy of mind and empirical research Choice Reviews Online January 20, 2016
and 9 more in the library